- The Madison City Council on Monday unanimously approved a pay increase for the city's next mayor, scheduled to take effect the first Monday in November 2012.

The mayor's pay raise will go from the present salary of $78,000 to $95,835 the first year with a 3 percent raise for the next four years, capping at $104,721 for the 2015-16 fiscal year.

City Council members will also receive a 3 percent raise each of the next four years with their pay starting at $13,600 for the 2012-13 fiscal year.

"We should have done this years ago," said City Council Finance Director Larry Vannoy. "The city has tripled in size in the last 20 years and the mayor's salary has been flat with only a small increase for inflation. It is a difficult time to make a decision, but we only have this opportunity once every four years and we are at a point where we could not put it off due to the economic situation."

Vannoy said the mayor and council members have not accepted an automatic pay raise in the last two years because of the fact city employees had not received one because of the economy.

In other business, the council passed a resolution to allow the city to pay 10 percent, or $2 million, toward the I-565/County Line Road access project, with 90 percent of the federal funds being dispersed through the Alabama Department of Transportation. The money will be used for land acquisition on County Line Road, said City Engineer Gary Chynoweth.

The cost is a concern to Vannoy, but he said it's a project that "has to be done" because so many other projects along the County Line corridor depend on it. He also pointed out revenues from the new Target shopping center scheduled to open in March are expected to help replenish Capital Improvement Project (CIP) money that has been used for other projects.

The council also approved two new road lighting projects on Shelton Road and Sullivan Street, accepted a donation of $15,000 from the Alabama Tourism Department from State Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, to help with directional signage throughout the city, and passed the annual appropriation to the city's Beautification Board for $8,550.

The council unanimously rejected 13 vacation of easement requests for the Millstone subdivision Phase II being built by Jeff Benton Homes.

The council has moved its Dec. 26 meeting to Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. to accommodate the Madison Utilities board meeting at 5 p.m. Dec. 19 at the Madison Municipal Complex, 100 Hughes Road.